Man on a Mission
by katiegirl99
Summary: Sequel to Man on the Beach. Beth and Daryl continue to navigate their budding relationship, as well as dealing with living together and making plans for the future. They are both so incredibly happy, in love, and excited for what life has to bring them - but can their happiness truly last?
1. Chapter 1

**All, I am excited to start this new story, a sequel to my previous story, A Man on the Beach. If you haven't read that story, I encourage you to start there, although I have tried to review/outline some of the main events of that story here in this first chapter (but I'm unsure if someone who didn't read the first story could glean enough from this to follow it!). This chapter isn't an active one, but it serves to introduce you to the story and to give a background on where Daryl and Beth are currently. **

**I hope to hear from each of you as I progress through this story – I love receiving feedback, as well as ideas for the story. I have many ideas for this story, but not necessarily a clear cut path, as I did with the last one. So I'd love to hear what each of thinks about what you'd like to see happening here. **

**Enjoy! And happy new year!**

* * *

><p>Daryl was pleasantly surprised with how easily he and Beth fell into a routine, finding a new sense of normalcy together. In those first days after they'd returned home from staying with Beth's parents in Georgia, she told him a great deal about her stay in the recovery center in Florida. It seemed that she had a very positive experience there and was feeling good about the progress she'd made. And Daryl hoped that if she was faced with another traumatic event, which he knew came to everyone in life sooner or later, that she'd be able to cope better than before, when she'd sunken into herself and struggled even with normal daily tasks. He hated thinking about that time, right after that little girl's drowning, when Beth had been almost catatonic and he'd stayed with her, making sure she ate, slept, bathed, had clean clothes to wear and things to try and occupy her mind. It had been a difficult time for him, maybe one of the most difficult of his life, he thought, especially at first when Beth hadn't wanted to even speak and he'd been left to only guess what he should do to try to help her. He still worried now that she'd been suicidal, after finding out that she'd attempted suicide once before. But she'd assured him that she hadn't been and that she had too much to live for. And Daryl believed her.<p>

And even though it was just a couple of months prior, it seemed to Daryl as if all of that was a lifetime ago. They'd had quite a journey since then, and Daryl often thought about all of those things, and that time, just a few weeks ago, when everything had been so different between them. That, of course, was before they'd started a relationship. Sure, they'd had the one night together, all instigated by a night out with friends and running into Daryl's ex, Andrea, and a consequential plan on Beth's part to make her jealous. That was the night that Daryl realized just how deep his feelings for Beth were. Over the six weeks that they were apart while Beth was in treatment, he'd often found his mind drifting back to that evening. Beth had been so uninhibited and he always smiled thinking back to that first time she'd kissed him, perched on his lap, and how her bare legs had felt under his fingertips. Things had gotten pretty heated between them then – Daryl had touched her, but she'd freaked out before anything else could happen, telling him it was a mistake and starting a fight with him that he feared then would ruin their relationship forever. And those days following, when Daryl had drunken himself into a stupor, but failed miserably at his attempts to forget about Beth, Daryl hated to think about those. He was glad, though, that somehow, someway fate had intervened and made sure that he just happened to be at Wal-mart that night, after the drowning, when Beth had been in such a traumatized state and needed him. After that, all the worries about that uncomfortable situation between them had melted away in light of Beth's state and Daryl's need to help her.

Those days and weeks after the drowning were somehow some of the best and worst of Daryl's life, he thought. He'd been miserable seeing Beth in such a terrible state, and it'd been incredibly frustrating not knowing exactly what she needed or how he could help her to come out of the dangerous cloud of depression that encircled her. But over time, she got better and better, and those quiet times they shared together then, particularly their nights snuggled together on the couch watching movies and reading aloud together, had really laid a pathway for their current relationship, although Daryl hadn't recognized it then. That was also the calm before the next storm, when Beth's uncle had walked in on them and things had gotten ugly quickly. And before he knew it, just as their relationship had really just gotten started, Beth was off to Florida to go to the treatment center, and Daryl was left lost and confused, unsure how to deal with her sudden absence and his inability to communicate with her.

But in the last days and weeks, things had seemed to settle down a bit, although Daryl still worried that it was all too good to be true. But, as the weeks passed, he grew more and more comfortable with this new life – and he also knew that he'd never let it go without a fight. He loved sharing his life with Beth, and never imagined that living with someone could be this way, as it certainly hadn't been with Andrea. With Andrea, she'd held all the power and control in the relationship; but with Beth, their relationship was a true partnership, and he couldn't help but think about their future and how much he couldn't wait to make her his wife. And he was excited to know, after their conversation back in Georgia, that that's what she was hoping for too.

Beth had seemed quite anxious about starting her student teaching, but she'd quickly adjusted to the new schedule and the school where she'd been assigned. Daryl never saw her in action there, of course, but he could only imagine that she was truly in her element – and the way that she talked about the school and the students made him assume that she had only grown more confident about her choice of a profession. Every night during dinner she'd talk and talk and talk about what happened that day, telling him stories about funny things students had said or done, or interesting things that happened. Daryl enjoyed listening to her, loved seeing her so happy, especially after everything that the past few months had entailed.

In some ways, Daryl thought, their days often mirrored those first days they shared together, right after they'd first met on the beach, when Daryl stayed with Beth during that first week after his breakup with Andrea. They got up and shared breakfast together every morning before both departing for school and work. And they'd have dinner together every night, telling each other about their days. Beth had taken to cooking their dinners most nights now, insisting that it was much healthier for them than always eating take-out and it would also be much cheaper too. But they continued to get to know more about one another in those moments, just as they'd done all those weeks ago, sitting at the breakfast bar in Beth's uncle's kitchen. They told each other much more now, though, both of them having now completely let their guard down for the other, telling secrets and memories from the past, not wanting to hold anything back from the other.

Daryl couldn't help but smile thinking also about the differences in their daily routine now compared to the one all those weeks ago. The biggest difference, of course, was their commitment to each other. They were truly together now and making plans for a future, a future together. Daryl still wasn't quite sure what that looked like, but after his and Beth's conversation about their future during their last night in Georgia he was starting to get a clearer picture in his mind.

Of course, there was also their physical relationship, which was now much different than it was before. Daryl had assumed that Beth's horniness and constant need for sex would slow down over time as she adjusted to her medication and to finding a daily routine with Daryl – but that hadn't really been the case. Sure, things weren't like they were that first weekend they spent at the house, but that was probably only because they both had things to do during the days and couldn't stay in bed together all day like they had then. But even with their work and school schedules, Beth's appetite for Daryl had definitely not decreased. Almost every morning Daryl would wake up to Beth rolling on top of him, or her hand snaking its way around his cock. She seemed to love that he was always hard in the morning when he woke up, and never wanted to pass up a chance to take advantage of it. And some days, Daryl could barely get out of the door to head to work without Beth's advances dragging him back in for a quick second round of the morning. He also always knew what to expect as he headed home at the end of the day – Beth would be in the kitchen, starting to get everything organized for the dinner she planned to cook that night, but as soon as Daryl got home, she'd be on him, needing and wanting to be as close to him as physically possible. And he could never turn her down, although sometimes he'd stave her off until he could shower off the dirt and grime of his day on the construction site. Or, on days when work had been particularly taxing, he'd take care of her, often dropping down onto his knees right there in the kitchen, licking Beth into a frenzy, before heading off for a shower and a brief nap before dinner. It was almost comical to Daryl how scared Beth had initially been about letting him put his mouth on her – because now, all of those inhibitions had certainly been left behind. And, at night, when they'd go to bed, they'd always make love. Daryl treasured those times the most – in those moments things were always slow, sweet, and loving. There was no rush, their actions being much more about love than about lust. And Daryl loved the way he and Beth would stare into each other's eyes, exchanging slow kisses and soft whispers of love, and how they'd fall asleep naked and holding one another tightly. And Daryl always thought, in those particular moments, that life couldn't get any better and he overflowed with feelings that he never thought he could have, knowing that he'd found the person he wanted to be with for the rest of his life.

Yes, things were good between them. They'd settled into the new house well, and Beth had enjoyed putting some "homey touches" on what Daryl had already done with the house. She'd initially been amazed at how well he'd done at getting everything and arranging it, although he'd assured her that her father had played a very large part in that. Beth had been very conscious about spending money on things for the house, but had drug Daryl along to a few area thrift stores to find a few things that were very reasonably priced. He'd tried to assure her that money wasn't as tight as she had convinced herself it was, and that they could go somewhere to buy new things, if she wanted. But she'd been hesitant to do so, trying to assure him that she liked things that were "vintage" – Daryl just thought that word meant used, although he'd come to see what great bargains you could find at thrift and consignment stores.

Beth had been incredibly anxious about money in those first few weeks they'd been back in Hilton Head, and Daryl worried that her anxiety would overtake her. She'd been so fixated on it, always talking about finding a job or questioning him on how they'd "make ends meet", and his concerns only grew when she didn't seem to respond to reason, even after he shared with her that he had over $60,000 in savings and that his salary, of about $100,000 a year, would be more than enough for them to both live off of and continue to save.

Daryl had already started working on plans for the house he planned to build for them on his father's land, back in Georgia, telling Beth that the whole process would take much longer than you'd think and not wanting to lose some of the ideas that he'd already come up with about the house. But when Beth saw some of the plans Daryl had sketched out, her concern about their finances had hit an all-time high. He was determined to build them the nicest, best house they could afford to, which he was sure would allow for quite a bit, since he'd be doing most of the work himself. But Beth seemed incredibly anxious about it all, and he'd continued to try to convince her to just trust him, although he wasn't sure she really was.

Right after he returned to work when he and Beth had come back from Georgia, his boss had given him a sizable bonus, since the first construction project he'd overseen had been completed, and they had actually come in just under the timeline, something not particularly common in construction. Tyreese, his boss, had been particularly impressed with how Daryl handled the project, and promised big things would be coming down the line for Daryl if he continued to perform so well. Daryl was excited to tell Beth about the bonus, knowing how she'd been fixating, unnecessarily on money. He gave her an envelope with several hundred dollars in it, telling her to use it for new school clothes and anything else she wanted or needed. She'd been particularly excited about that, and Daryl was glad that she'd accepted the money – he'd prepared himself that she'd refuse it, given her constant concerns about how they could afford to live. He'd done some math and figured that his bonus was enough to compensate for any small part-time job she'd be able to get, especially given her school schedule, trying to assure her that she didn't need to work and that she should focus on her student teaching and her own mental health. Daryl knew they didn't need that money anyways, not really – the bonus was nice, but he made more than enough for them to live very comfortably. Beth had seemed a tad bit relieved when he'd told her that he didn't want her to try to find a job, at least in that moment, but he wasn't sure if that was because of the bonus, or the promise that she wouldn't have to spend any more time away from him that she had to.

Daryl had noticed that Beth was seemingly very attached to him and always wanted to be around him during any free time that they both had. Everything Beth did seemingly revolved around Daryl and while he loved spending every minute he could with her, it also concerned him a bit that she didn't ever want to be away from him except when it was absolutely necessary. Other than the couple of friends that had been given the same student teaching assignment as Beth, she hadn't seen any of her friends since returning. When Daryl questioned her about it she got a bit defensive, telling him that she just didn't feel quite up to it yet and that she also wanted to be with him as much as possible. And even after he'd offered to go with her to meet up with them, maybe for dinner over the weekend, or that she could even invite them all over to their house, she still shrugged it off, giving him a very noncommittal "yeah… maybe" in response. Daryl worried that Beth was growing incredibly co-dependent on him and he knew how unhealthy that was for her. He also knew, based on a book that he'd secretly read about depression and anxiety, that that was a common tendency for those who struggled with those types of conditions and that it could hamper their progress and overall ability to function somewhat normally.

And overall, although there were those few things that did really worry Daryl, he felt incredibly happy with him and Beth's new life. At times he tried to think back to what his life had been like before Beth, but always found that he'd rather think about what it'd been like since he'd met her, all those weeks ago on the beach. Then, she'd pulled him out of the darkness and brought him back to life, reminding him that he was strong and could move past his heartache. And he found that she still did that for him, everyday – she was his sunshine, the reason why he worked so incredibly hard, and, the more he thought about it, the source of the totality of all his happiness.


	2. Chapter 2

Beth sped towards the grocery store, fixating, although she knew it was unnecessarily, at the time on her dashboard's clock – 4:46 PM. School let out at 2:30, and she, along with all of the other teachers and student teachers, were expected to stay until 3:15, although she usually left between 3:30 and 3:45, when there seemed to be a mass migration of almost everyone leaving the school buildings. She'd ended up staying late today though, as the teacher she was assigned to, Mrs. Gonzalez, had asked her to stay to sit in on a departmental meeting about curriculum planning. She'd assured Beth that these types of meetings were important, and that it would be a good opportunity for her to be a part of one before she was actually a full-fledged teacher and had to participate in them regularly. Beth was anxious to learn more about the process of choosing and altering curriculum, although she knew that the meeting would throw her off of her normal schedule.

In the weeks that she and Daryl had been back in Hilton Head, she'd settled into a very comfortable routine for herself. Having a strict routine had never been important to her in the past, but she found great comfort in it now. One of her counselors had also placed great emphasis on setting a steady routine, suggesting that it would only help her in the long term. And, because today was Monday, her normal routine dictated that she would head to the grocery store after school, spending a good amount of time doing all she and Daryl's shopping for the week. Because she'd started cooking the majority of their meals at home, that meant that grocery shopping was more time consuming, but also more important. Generally, they ate dinner at home every night except Friday, which had become their designated end-of-the-week date night. And Daryl had started a new trend of making them breakfast for dinner on Sunday nights, leaving Beth with five other nights of meals to prepare. Daryl always offered to help her, which she thought was sweet, but she always shouldered most of the responsibility on herself, feeling a little like a freeloader at times, since they lived solely off of Daryl's earnings. She often struggled with wanting to make sure she was "pulling her weight" and contributing to the household, although Daryl always laughed when she mentioned it, telling her she was going overboard and didn't need to.

Beth had started planning out their meals ahead of time, insisting that it made the most sense – and Daryl hadn't ever argued with that. She also always bought a Sunday newspaper so that she could clip the coupons. She would sit at their kitchen table every Sunday afternoon with all of her coupons, which she'd organized into a small book, the Publix weekly ad circular, and a notepad, as well as a few favorite cookbooks. She spent a lot of time deciding what to cook for dinner each night, often letting her coupons and the items on sale that week dictate to her what she'd be making, and the other things that she'd add to her list as well. She'd learned that Daryl was very low maintenance, and that he generally didn't care about expensive brands or trendy foods. She packed his lunch every day and he always seemed very content to have the same things – two basic sandwiches, either ham or turkey, and cheese, a bag of chips, and a little something sweet, maybe cookies or sometimes even fruit. He also never minded if she bought things for him that were on sale – whatever brand, within reason, of deodorant or body wash or shampoo was on sale, that was just fine with him. The one thing that he was insistent on, though, was his beer – he'd been adamant with her that he only drank Budweiser. And so, even if it wasn't on sale, she always bought him that – it was a small price to pay, especially considering it was the one thing he'd been so specific about.

Beth felt a little bit frazzled by how much later she was in getting to the store today. She generally liked to be home by 5 o'clock, or a few minutes after. Daryl usually got home around 6, although sometimes he did call her to say he was working a bit later, but she liked to get home and take a shower and get everything out and ready to start dinner preparations before he came home. Today, though, she wasn't sure that she'd even make it home before he did, and for some reason, that escalated her heart rate a great deal. In the back of her mind she knew she was placing too much emphasis on the time, and fixating on a schedule that was really just arbitrary, but she couldn't shake the feeling of nervousness and frustration that she had as she quickly turned into Publix, found a parking spot, and practically ran into the store. As she started down the first aisle with her shopping cart, examining her list, she got a bit more anxious as she scanned the list, remembering now that it was a bit longer this week. It seemed that they'd started to run low on a lot of things all at the same time, and she dreaded having to buy all of them at once, although she knew she'd have to. All of this would mean more time at the store, more money spent, and many more groceries to carry into the house when she got home.

Beth was lost in her mind, half focused on the task at hand, and half worrying about the time and about getting home to get dinner started, when she turned a corner sharply, her buggy colliding with another.

"I am so sor…" Beth started to apologize, as she frantically looked up for her list, which had been the reason for her lack of attention to the person who's buggy she'd just rammed into. However, as her eyes jerked up to meet them, she saw a familiar, yet not particularly friendly face.

"Well… Hi, there. Beth, is it?" Andrea said, a rude expression registering with the weak smile on her face.

"Oh… Yes… Hi… I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I'm running late and have a long list this week and I'm just really trying to get home to start on dinner…" Beth said, realizing all of a sudden that she was inappropriately blabbering, and that this woman in front of her probably couldn't care less what was going on. She hadn't thought much about Andrea since that time they'd met, but now that she was face to face with her, and in the light of day, she couldn't help but notice how truly beautiful she really was, even if she was a good bit older than herself.

"Daryl's got you playing the role of the little woman for him, then, huh?" Andrea said, a smirk spreading across her face that Beth didn't quite understand the meaning of.

"What?" Beth asked. She didn't understand what Andrea was implying, or why she even cared about her and Daryl's relationship in the first place. Hadn't she been the one to cheat on Daryl and drive him away?

"He always did seem to be the traditional type. I guess he found himself a little housewife after all…" Andrea said.

Beth was a bit taken aback by that comment. She wasn't sure how to respond and she also didn't feel like any of this was any of Andrea's business. She tried to think of something to say, wracking her brain for a good response, but Andrea didn't give her a chance.

"All that home cooking must be doing him good, though… He's looking good lately" Andrea said, all of a sudden moving past Beth and into the aisle that Beth had just come out of. "Good luck to ya, honey…" she said as she'd passed by Beth, looking back at her one more time and giving her a somewhat sympathetic look.

Beth didn't say anything in response, and she was frozen to that spot for some time, although how long, she wasn't quite sure. She knew she shouldn't have been threatened by Andrea, knew that Daryl seemed happy with her now, and always said that he was. But Andrea was so beautiful, so sophisticated looking and mature, that it was hard for Beth to not feel a little bit insecure in comparison. She reminded herself to breath, counting backwards from 25, and focusing on something else, just as she'd learned to do during her time in Florida while in the treatment center. She finally put one foot in front of the other, pushing her cart forward, reminding herself that she was already running behind and that she needed to get herself together and get the rest of her shopping done before she lost any more time. She knew Andrea was trying to intimidate her, or make her feel inadequate by her snide comments, but she tried to remind herself that it was coming from a place of jealousy – Andrea had obviously realized what she'd lost in Daryl, and hated seeming him with someone else.

Beth rolled all of this through her mind as she continued through the store, marking off the remaining items on her list and going toward the checkout, her cart overflowing with stuff. After she'd hurriedly loaded it all into her car, she got in and headed towards home, hoping she could at least make it to the house before Daryl got home. She heard her phone ding twice, signaling text messages and she looked over at her phone, which was resting in the passenger seat, to see that the messages were from Daryl. He'd lectured her incessantly about not texting while driving, so she deliberately waited to actually read the messages, knowing she was only a couple of minutes away from their house. As soon as she pulled into the driveway and put the car in park though, she grabbed her phone, reading the messages.

Monday 5:56 PM

I gotta work late tonight. A lot going on. I won't be home for

regular dinner time… go ahead without me. Be home late. Sorry.

Monday 5:56 PM

Love you babe.

Beth wasn't sure why, but she started to cry. After her frantic afternoon and her awkward run in with Andrea at the grocery store, all she'd been focusing on was seeing Daryl at home. She was yearning for him, needing to feel his arms wrapped around her, reminding her that everything was okay and that he loved her. There were often days like this where Beth would experience some type of anxiety during the day and by the end of the day, she'd be counting the seconds until Daryl walked in the door. And she particularly felt like that today; now, though, she didn't even know when he'd be home and she couldn't hold her emotions together any longer. She sat in the car for a long time, telling herself she needed to get out, that she needed to unload the groceries and busy herself with putting them away instead of fixating on her emotions. But she just couldn't get herself together.

For some reason, she started to begin to replay her encounter with Andrea in her mind. Something about Andrea just rubbed Beth the wrong way, and it wasn't necessarily her knowledge of what had happened between her and Daryl. It struck Beth how arrogant Andrea had seemed, even a bit smug, but Beth couldn't understand what reason Andrea would have to be that way towards her. Then she remembered the last thing Andrea had said to her before walking away.

_"__All that home cooking must be doing him good, though… He's looking good lately."_

Beth hadn't really registered that last part when Andrea said it, she was too caught up in her own mind about their run in and how awkward and uncomfortable it all was. But, now, she realized how strange it was. How did Andrea know how Daryl looked? When and why had she even seen him since that night, all those weeks ago, that they saw her at the bar? Daryl definitely hadn't mentioned seeing her to Beth and she couldn't imagine that he wouldn't tell her. Unless, that is, Beth reasoned, that he'd somehow run into her because of work and he'd been afraid to tell Beth because of his fears that it would upset her. She knew she hadn't been particularly stable emotionally, and could imagine Daryl wanting to keep her happy – and knowing he'd seen Andrea would have definitely upset her. But thinking that Daryl wouldn't tell her about it, especially after he'd seemed so adamant about staying as far away from her as possible, just seemed odd. And it made her stomach turn thinking about it.

She finally got herself together enough to get out of the car and unload the groceries, although she left many of them sitting on the kitchen table, only putting the things that needed to go into the refrigerator away. She was beating herself up, telling herself that she was being ridiculous and that she had no reason to have such a strong emotional reaction to what Andrea said to her. She trusted Daryl, didn't she? She was pondering over that when she noticed an unopened bottle of red wine sitting on the counter and, without really thinking about it, moved to the drawer where they kept the corkscrew and started opening the bottle. She knew she wasn't supposed to drink while on her current medicine, but she couldn't help but feel like she needed it – it would calm her down, she reasoned. She would just have one glass, she told herself, although she took the entire bottle and a glass into the bathroom with her as she ran a bath and undressed. This was just what she needed, she told herself – she just needed a nice relaxing bubble bath and a glass of wine to calm her down.

Beth slipped into the water, lying herself back with her head resting on the back of the large garden tub. She finished the first glass of wine, and felt a good bit calmer. She reasoned that she could have another, which she very generously poured for herself. As she drank it her mind swirled with thoughts of Daryl, whether or not he was keeping something from her about Andrea, and why he'd been working late so often lately, when he'd never done that before. She kept hanging on those words he'd texted her, though.

_Love you babe_.

She hoped with everything that she had that he really did. And those were the last thoughts she had before she faded into the darkness.


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl hurried into the nice office building in front of him, the building he swore, after he and Andrea's breakup, that he'd never darken the door of again. A part of him couldn't believe that he was actually going in, but he just held his breath, hoping he wasn't making a big mistake but knowing that he probably was. He hated that he'd lied to Beth in his text. He'd told her a few times in the last few weeks that he had to work late, though he was coming to this same building each time. He had to do this, though, and he just hoped that if she ever found out, she'd somehow find it in her heart to understand. He wasn't sure about that, though – he wasn't sure that he would if their roles were reversed.

Walking into the building, he came face to face with the one person that he'd sworn to avoid over the last weeks and months – Andrea. She wore a smug smile on her face and it made Daryl feel sick on his stomach.

"Well… hello sir" Andrea drawled out flirtatiously, not trying to hide that she was raking her eyes up and down Daryl's body.

"Hey…" Daryl muttered out. He didn't want to engage Andrea in conversation. That wasn't what he'd come here for and he just wanted to do what he needed to and get out. The more he looked at her, the harder his stomach churned and his instinct was just to turn around and high tail it out of there, to hell with the purpose for his visit.

"It's funny to run into you now… I just happened to see your little lady a little bit ago at the grocery. She seemed to be in quite the hurry to get home and get dinner on the table for you. What a good little house wife you're turning her into!" Andrea said.

"What? You saw Beth? You didn't talk to her did you?" Daryl was a little panicked at Andrea's words. He tried to remain calm, tried to tell himself that just because Andrea had seen her it didn't mean that Beth had actually seen Andrea, or talked to her, for that matter. He knew Beth wouldn't really want to talk to Andrea anyway, so she probably would have just avoided her if she'd had the choice.

"Yeah… I did. But don't worry, honey, I was nice to her… mostly. And I told her all that home cooking sure was looking good on you lately" Andrea said, moving closer to Daryl and putting her hand on his shoulder. When she winked at him, Daryl really started to panic.

It took a moment for Andrea's words to sink in fully. "You told her what?! Shit. Did she seem upset? She doesn't know I've been coming here… doesn't know that I've seen you. Fuck, Andrea! What the hell?" Daryl said, anger registering on his face as he shoved Andrea's hand away from his shoulder. He was getting frenzied now. He knew exactly what Andrea was trying to do. Every time he'd seen her the last couple of weeks, she'd made it very clear that she wanted to be back with him again. And he wouldn't put it past her to try to hurt Beth and create all sorts of collateral damage in the process.

Andrea didn't respond, simply standing before him with that ever-present smug smile on her face. Andrea always got what she wanted and she was extremely confident in herself – and knowing that made Daryl even more fearful of this situation. He knew that if Andrea wanted to, she could probably convince Beth of almost anything.

Daryl knew he needed to leave, needed to get out of there and home to Beth, where he belonged. He couldn't do this anymore, couldn't lie to Beth, couldn't keep coming here, and definitely couldn't see Andrea. She would only ever make things complicated for him and he wasn't sure why he'd been naïve enough to think this would be okay, that he could give her a tiny foothold into his life all over again. He quickly turned and walked back towards the door, back towards the parking lot, his mind reeling thinking about Beth and how she might have responded to Andrea's somewhat loaded words. He could hear Andrea's voice calling out to him, but he wasn't listening. He had to leave, had to get home.

As he opened up his truck door, Andrea grabbed his arm. He spun around, wild-eyed, unaware that she'd followed him out into the parking lot. "What?" he shouted out at her, frustrated and unsure of why she could never let anything go.

"You're just gonna leave?" she asked, a genuinely confused look on her face.

"I ain't stayin' here… Not now. I gotta get home. Gotta make sure Beth is okay." Daryl said, moving into his truck, not really caring about getting into a conversation with Andrea. He didn't have to give her an answer, and she surely didn't deserve one.

"But what about…?" Andrea started to ask, but Daryl cut her off.

"Not now, Andrea!" he said, voice raised as he slammed his truck door closed. He started his truck, not stopping to worry about putting on his seatbelt and threw his truck into gear, his tires squealing as he pulled out of the parking lot.

His mind was racing the entire drive home. He knew he needed to call down, knew that there was a good chance that either Andrea was lying or that Beth hadn't had a strong reaction to what she'd said. Beth knew his history with Andrea, right? She wouldn't just assume the worst, would she? Wouldn't she know that if he actually had seen Andrea recently that there had to be a logical explanation? He tried to calm himself with those thoughts, but then remembered that Beth hadn't even texted him back today. That was totally out of character for her, and his panic started to escalate again. He wanted to blame Andrea for all of this – she'd known that his coming to her office had been a secret from Beth. And she knew the potential impact that little tidbit of information could have on their relationship. But he also couldn't help but mostly blame himself. How could he have been so stupid to think it was a good idea to lie to Beth?

His drive home, which was really just under 5 minutes, seemed to drag on for an eternity as every possible terrible thought passed through his mind. By the time he pulled into their driveway, he was almost having a panic attack, literally jumping out of the truck and running full speed up to the door.

* * *

><p>Beth could hear someone calling for her, calling her name with increasing force and concern. But no matter what, she couldn't respond. Eventually, the voice was much closer, seemingly right beside her.<p>

"Beth? Beth! Baby girl… come on. What's going on? You've gotta wake up!" the voice said frantically. There was a pause and then it came again. "Shit! Have you been drinking?"

Beth finally realized it was Daryl when she felt a pair of strong arms reach under her and lift her up. She was trying to open her eyes, trying to come out of the haze she was in, but, although her eyes were open, she could barely see, only blurs and shadows, and she felt like she was in some kind of long, dark tunnel that made everything seem slow and foggy. The noise of Daryl's motions finally made her realize where she was – she'd been in the bath tub. She wasn't sure how long she'd been there and she couldn't even remember getting in it in the first place. She tried to speak, but she couldn't – no matter what her foggy mind tried to make her body do, there was nothing. Beth tried hard and willed her head to nod affirmatively to him, at least giving him a tiny indication that she was responsive and that she could hear him, even if she couldn't immediately speak a response.

She felt him sitting her down and then taking a large towel and wrapping her up in it and drying her off. She looked up at him, as best she could, noting that her vision was still very blurred but seemed to have improved a little.

"Jesus… That water is freezing. How long have you been sitting in there sweetheart? Are you okay? Can you hear me? I'm gonna get you into the bed and warm you up. Beth? Talk to me, baby. Say something." Daryl's voice was calmer than it had been initially, but there was still a bit of panic.

Beth felt Daryl's arms again and before she knew it he'd laid her down on their bed, spreading the sheet and quilt up over her, all the way to her chin. He quickly stripped off his shirt and pants and lay down next to her on top of the covers, using part of his body to cover hers. He was so warm and, in that moment Beth realized that her teeth were chattering. It had taken a moment for it to register with her, but she was unbelievably cold. For some reason, this felt especially comforting – and even though her body felt limp and her mind was hazy, she felt like she would be okay, knowing Daryl was right there taking care of her.

"Come on, baby. Talk to me. Why were you drinking? You know you can't do that… you know it doesn't mix well with your medicine. Did something happen?" Daryl said. His voice was calmer now, although clearly still concerned about Beth.

Beth wanted to respond, but she couldn't. She just shrugged her shoulders a bit, trying her best to give any response she could. And she really didn't know why she'd been drinking. She didn't even remember that she had been. In her mind that didn't make sense – she hadn't had any alcohol since she'd started her new medication while in treatment. She knew the doctors had warned her of the terrible effects that mixing alcohol and that medicine could create and she was too much of a rule follower to risk that, especially risk something damaging happening to her body. So why had she been drinking? She just couldn't imagine why.

A bit of time passed as Beth lay there with Daryl, him talking to her softly and her responding with any possible way she could. She came back to life more and more, eventually finding her words again, although her body felt sluggish and fatigued and she couldn't find the energy to say much. Daryl got up from the bed, telling her he was going to call her doctor, just to make sure he shouldn't take her to the hospital, and that he'd bring back something for her to try to eat and something to drink.

While he was gone, Beth racked her brain trying to put the pieces together of what had happened. She couldn't remember much of her day at all, actually, and once she realized that it caused her a lot of anxiety. What had happened that had caused her mind to go blank? This happened to her once before, when that little girl drowned, and she knew now, after her time at the treatment center, that sometimes your brain would black out memories because of the strong emotional turmoil that those memories caused. She couldn't imagine that was the case now though – everything had been fine this morning, she remembered. And so, she solaced herself to just believe that she must have had a tough day at school and, for some reason, decided to have some wine when she got home. What she couldn't put together, though, was why Daryl hadn't been there. She rolled this over and over in her mind, never able to figure out what the reason might have been.

* * *

><p>After talking with Beth's doctor, Daryl went to the kitchen to find something for Beth to eat. The doctor had assured Daryl that, while drinking while on the anxiety medication was a terrible idea, the amount that she'd had was not enough to cause any serious problems and that as long as she continued to respond and come out of her foggy state, she was fine to stay at home. He did suggest to Daryl that Beth stay home the following day, and Daryl immediately made a mental note to text Tyreese to tell him he needed to stay home as well. He couldn't just leave Beth at home alone like this – not now.<p>

His mind swirled with the possibilities of what had happened to Beth. Had her reaction over Andrea caused this? He hoped not, but it was too big of a coincidence not to be true. He knew that Beth had a history of strong emotional reactions and he feared the worst. The worst part now, though, was that he knew he needed to be completely honest with Beth, needed to tell her the whole truth about why he'd seen Andrea several times over the last couple of weeks. He knew it wouldn't be a good conversation, but he needed to do this – he loved her and he couldn't lie to her another minute longer. Except, now, he didn't think it was the time to have that conversation. Beth didn't remember anything that had happened all day and was struggling physically just to speak. How could he try to bombard her with all of that now?

He'd have to wait, he decided. He didn't know how long, but he knew it was the best thing for Beth. He needed to put all of his focus on her right now and not be selfish and spit out a bunch of things that he wanted to get on his chest.

He headed back to their bedroom, a bowl of soup he'd heated up in one hand and a can of Beth's favorite sparkling water in the other. He got her to sit up a bit, propped up on a mountain of pillows, and spoon fed her the soup. She seemed to be a bit better, not saying much, but smiling up at him. That smile reminded him that she was his entire world, but simultaneously made him feel incredibly guilty. His lying was the entire basis of her current state and he hated himself for putting her through this. And it was ten times worse that she wasn't even currently aware of it all. All he could do now, though, was be there with her and remind her of how much he loved her. He hoped that'd be enough when the inevitable happened – either Beth remembered what happened with Andrea, or he told her.

Beth ate enough soup for him to be satisfied. He went to the bathroom to take a really quick shower, just to wash off the dirt of the day, not wanting to get into bed with Beth still dirty from work. When he came back into their room, she'd laid back down, seemingly asleep with a sweet little smile on her face. It broke Daryl's heart, thinking about how much he loved her and how messed up this situation truly was. He would fix it, though, he knew that – he would do anything and everything to make things better and right for Beth.

He climbed in beside her, wrapping his arms around her, hearing her hum with appreciation for his touch, and whispering into her ear over and over.

"I love you, baby. I will always love you. You are the best thing to ever happen to me. I could never live without you."

His heart stopped when she all of a sudden whispered back.

"Touch me, Daryl. Please."


	4. Chapter 4

Daryl and Beth spent that Tuesday snuggled up together, mostly staying in bed, watching movies, reading, making love, and just enjoying being together. Beth was still a tiny bit out of it, but a good night's sleep had done wonders for her body and her mind. Still, though, she didn't remember the events of the previous day. And Daryl knew he needed to just tell her - he'd rather just tell her before she all of a sudden remembered on her own. But he wasn't quite ready to take that step, fearing that as soon as those words left his mouth that their sweet alone time together would be over. And it didn't help that he feared the worst about how Beth might respond to his confessions.

After he'd gone out to get them some dinner, telling Beth that they could splurge this one time and get something from her favorite takeout place, he promised himself that he'd talk to her. After they ate, he told himself, he'd do it. He just couldn't hold on to it anymore. He'd been hovering between heaven and hell all day - spending this kind of time with Beth was amazing, and they hadn't had much of this lazy time at home together since they'd first moved in together. But all day Daryl had been constantly drawn back to the thoughts of telling Beth the truth about Andrea.

"Let's watch one more movie before we go to bed" Beth suggested after they'd both finished eating and Daryl had cleaned up. He smiled back at her, knowing how much she loved watching the same ol' romantic comedies over and over, ones she'd seemingly watched 100 times. And he secretly loved watching them with her, if for no other reason than to make her happy. And in that moment he wanted to just tell her yes, but he knew he couldn't, at least not yet. This was the time to talk to her, the time to be honest. He had to be brave and tell her the truth.

"Sure, baby girl. But... first, I need to talk to ya" Daryl said hesitantly.

"Okay" Beth said, almost sounding excited. She shifted on the bed to fully face Daryl and his heart almost broke. Here was this woman that he desperately loved, smiling up at him, obviously thinking he had something good to tell her. And he felt like he might be sick to his stomach. He almost lost his nerve but then reminded himself that this would only get worse the longer he kept it from her - this was just like a bandaid, best to just go ahead and rip it off.

"Still don't remember what happened yesterday?" Daryl asked, reaching out and tucking a piece of Beth's wildly disheveled hair behind her ear and trailing his thumb over her cheek.

"No... The last I remember was the morning. That's it." Beth said, obviously still trying to will herself to remember. "Why?"

"Well... I think I know what happened" he said.

"Okay?" Beth replied, and Daryl could see the sudden uncertainty in her face.

"I need you to just listen right now. Let me say everything I need to say before you say anything, okay?" Daryl asked. He knew Beth and he knew that she would probably get upset very quickly - his only chance in minimizing all of this was to hope that she'd let him talk without interrupting. If he got the full story out quickly, maybe she'd understand and not blow up.

"So... You know that a few times over the last few weeks I've needed to work late?". He looked up to Beth and she gave him a simple nod. "Well... In some ways I was working, just... just not on the construction site. I... I've been trying to finalize the house plans. A guy I used to work with, he's an expert in plans and codes and all the paperwork that has to be done. He used to live in Georgia too, so he knows all the regs there and the stuff that's different from here. And... well... he told me he'd help me... ya know... just as a favor, no charge."

He paused to see Beth's reaction, but so far she seemed okay - she was just staring back at him, following along with what he was saying, but disappointment or sign of hurt on her face. So he continued.

"I didn't mean to mislead you... I just... I wanted to surprise you with having it all done and ready to start. I wanna have everything in place to start by the first of November. That way, I can get some work in before it gets really cold. And I may be able to sneak away while we're there for the holidays to do a little here and there. Anyway... And it's just... it's seemed like the process of it all was stressing you out a bit. So... well... I just didn't want you to worry."

He paused again to gauge Beth's reaction, but she was simply nodding her head at him, not seeming at all upset. This was going alright so far, he thought. He'd admitted to not telling her the truth, but she hadn't gotten emotional and he was relieved. This was going to be okay, he told himself - he shouldn't have assumed the worst about how Beth would respond.

"That's where what happened yesterday comes in. See... The guy who's been helping me... well... he works for Andrea. And, I've tried to avoid her baby... really, I have. But... John asked me to come to his office to work on all of this... And... I didn't wanna go to that office... didn't wanna even chance running into her. But he was doing so much for me ... I didn't wanna try to act petty about it. So I've run into her a few times because of that. And, I've done everything I can not to really talk to her or encourage her attention. But... she's made it real clear that she still wants me... at least on some level." Daryl stopped, almost abruptly. He realized he was babbling and talking really fast. Once he'd said Andrea's name he'd seen Beth's eyes widen and he wanted to tell her as much as he could, as quickly as he could.

The concerned look on Beth's face had certainly grown now, especially at the mention of Andrea's name. But she did as Daryl had asked, staying quiet. For a moment, he worried that she was mad and that she wasn't speaking because of that. But he wanted to wait a moment, to give her a chance to process what he'd just said, hoping that she would understand everything he was telling her. As he looked at her, watching her process what he'd said, she suddenly looked up at him and gasped.

"I remember..." she said, her voice almost a whisper.

Daryl moved cautiously closer to her, moving to her side and pulling her into him loosely so that her shoulder and arm were right up against his chest. She didn't fight him and he took that as a good sign.

"What do you remember, Beth?" he asked.

"I went to Publix... like I do every Monday afternoon... and, well... I was running really late from my usual time because of a meeting at school. And I was in a hurry... cause I didn't wanna risk you getting home before me. You know how much I hate that. And ... well... I ran into Andrea. Literally ran into her... ran my cart into hers."

Beth looked up at Daryl and she had a confusing mix of emotions in her eyes. But she was calm and she wasn't pulling away from Daryl.

"Yeah?" he asked, prompting her to continue on.

"She wasn't nice... Kinda condescending and just... I don't know how to explain it. But Right before she walked away she said something about you looking good lately, which, in the moment didn't really register because I was just so overwhelmed. But then I remembered it on the way home and... I just kinda lost it. It freaked me out. And then, literally like, right then, you texted that you wouldn't be home and you were so vague. And I tried... But I just couldn't get myself together. That's why I drank the wine. That's why I was in the bath tub. I remember now..."

Beth's voice was quiet but steady and in hurt Daryl to recognize the pain resonating in her words.

"Listen, baby girl... You don't need to ever worry about me. I love you. I want to be with you. You're it for me. I mean it. And I'm sorry I lied. I shouldn't have done that. I'm so sorry I put you through that." Daryl said, talking quietly into Beth's ear, trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry too..." Beth whispered.

"What in the world do you have to be sorry for?" Daryl asked, putting his index finger under Beth's chin and moving her head so that she was looking at him.

"Not trusting you..." she said, her head down and her eyes on her hands in her lap.

"You can always trust me, okay? But I'm sorry this time I didn't earn it... I didn't deserve it. I won't lie to you again, okay?" Daryl said.

"Okay." Beth responded, nodding her head a bit and giving Daryl the faintest of smiles.

Neither of them were bubbly or energetic in that moment, but they'd worked through things and they both seemed content to just sit together silently and think about what happened. They sat there for some time, just quietly snuggled together, Daryl occasionally placing little kisses on Beth's temple or forehead. As the minutes passed by Beth melted further into Daryl and he could tell that she was finally relaxing, letting go of all the tension their conversation had brought.

Daryl had never felt like this before, not by a mile. In all the other relationships that he'd had, he'd felt the strongest at the beginning. Now, he realized how incredibly messed up that was. In all of those cases once the excitement and newness faded and the realness came into the relationship, with real problems and issues to work through, things hadn't been the same. But that couldn't be farther from the reality of his relationship with Beth. Somehow, every day that he woke up next to her he was crazier about her, more in love than the day before. He knew that sounded cheesy, and he wasn't sure he'd ever say that out loud to anyone, but he couldn't ignore his feelings. And he knew that whatever happened with Beth, they'd work through it - because he loved her, because he couldn't fathom a problem that they couldn't handle. It might be tough at times, but he knew he'd spend the rest of his life trying to do whatever he could to make her happy.

Daryl lightly kissed Beth's ear and neck sweetly before whispering to her. "Now... how about that movie?"


End file.
